Dawson Mercer scored a pair of short-handed goals for the visiting New Jersey Devils, who never trailed in a 4-1 win over the host Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.
Jacob Markstrom made 43 saves for the Devils in his first start since signing a contract extension Friday.
Nico Hischier scored early in the first period for the Devils, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Brian Halonen then collected his first NHL goal in the second.
Andrei Kuzmenko ended Markstrom’s shutout bid just just before the midway point of the third for the Kings, whose point streak ended at seven games (4-0-3). Goalie Darcy Kuemper recorded 18 saves.
Hischier opened the scoring following a Kings turnover just 1:22 into the first. Defenseman Joel Edmundson’s pass from behind the Devils got past teammate Kevin Fiala and went to Luke Hughes. Hischier and Edmundson crossed in front of Kuemper as Hughes’ shot glanced off Hischier’s stick and fluttered past Kuemper.
The Devils doubled the lead early in the second period. Dennis Cholowski’s pass from the New Jersey zone glanced off the side boards in the neutral zone and to Luke Glendening, who fed Halonen at the edge of the right faceoff circle. Halonen, playing in his 12th career game, collected his milestone goal by angling a shot over Kuemper’s stick shoulder at the 3:12 mark.
Mercer put the Devils ahead 3-0 by scoring a short-handed goal 3:09 into the third. Mercer outraced Brandt Clarke to a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated up the left side of the ice and deked a pass to Hischier before firing a shot over Kuemper’s glove.
Kuzmenko scored 9:49 into the third period when he took Anze Kopitar’s backhanded pass from behind the net and flicked a shot over Markstrom’s glove from point-blank range.
With Kuemper pulled for the extra attacker, Mercer scored a length-of-the-ice empty-netter with 3:48 remaining.
